Channon scores after extra time

Mick Channon, who has over 200 horses in his care, breathed a huge sigh of relief after the first race at Brighton yesterday. For the win of Yajbill broke one of his longest losing runs since he took up training following an illustrious football career which included a string of international appearances in the England forward line.

Channon's last 42 runners had not yielded a winner, but the two-year-old son of Royal Applause got him out of the dreaded "cold trainers" column in the Racing Post.

In fact, Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's property could turn out to be something a bit special because research into the rest of the field revealed that they were not a bad bunch. For instance, Fasylitator, who also ran in the maiden six-furlong race, has been entered in one of the top juvenile races, the Middle Park Stakes, at Newmarket later in the year.

The victory also chalked up the 50th Channon scorer of the season, with the stable's travelling head lad Dave Boulton admitting: "It has taken a little bit longer for us to get to the half-century this year, but thank goodness we have broken the bad run at last."

Ted Durcan sent Yajbill, a 5-1 shot, straight into the lead and the colt kept up the gallop until the post arrived, albeit only a neck in front of Oligarch, who was well supported to win on his racecourse debut.

Ian McInnes, who trains at the Yorkshire village of Catwick, often finds his stable being mixed up with the airport of a similar name, but he took off with a winner at the track when Molotov, ably ridden by Natalia Gemelova, took the five-furlong second race.

Molotov exploded out of the stalls, and like Yajbill in the race before, was at the head of affairs for the whole trip to beat Gone 'N' Dunnett by a length and a half. A fairly recent addition to the racing scene, McInnes was recording his 17th career winner from his picturesque stable which is not far from Beverley racecourse. His winning gelding is lucky to be running as the four-year-old has had joint trouble and has been breaking blood vessels.

With thunder rumbling around the South Downs and stinging downpours causing the going to be changed twice during the afternoon, punters should have heeded the old adage "if it's wet, don't bet", and the fillies' mile-and-a-half handicap was another benefit for the bookies with Papeete, a 20-1 chance, providing jockey Steve Drowne with the second leg of a treble following Ivory Coast's victory in the seller for Willie Muir.

Papeete, moving up in distance to over a mile for the first time for the Epsom trainer Brooke Sanders, who does well with the limited talent she has, he got home by half a length from Precious Mystery.

It was certainly a memorable day for Drowne, who went on to register a 2,183-1 treble aboard Landucci for John Hills in the penultimate race.

Toby Balding has lodged an appeal with the Jockey Club against the decision by the York stewards not to promote Gold Ring to first place in last Wednesday's Totesport Ebor.

The Ebor was won by Mephisto, who veered left towards Balding's Gold Ring in the final furlong of the £200,000 handicap and delivered a slight bump before landing the race by a short head.

Balding made his decision after studying a tape of the race and consulting Gold Ring's owner, Bridget Swire.

· Today's meeting at Catterick was called off yesterday due to the course being waterlogged.